(ThyBlackMan.com) These are very good news for sure. Published few weeks ago, the April 2018 Amnesty International report on death penalty shows encouraging results for the death penalty abolition activists worldwide. In Africa, Governments’s justice systems seem to progressively giving up this penalty. In 2017, the number of countries (5) which executed prisoners in 2016 has decreased to just (2). The rate of death penalty pronounced by judges also came down. At by the end of 2017, In Sub-Saharan Africa, 20 countries abolished the death penalty, 23 continued.
In Somalia, in 2017, 24 executions (12 by Portland government and 12 by Federal government) have been done by the state, 4 in South Sudan. The method used in South Sudan was the hanging and the firing squad in Somalia. In North Africa in Egypt, 35 prisoners were executed. The Botswana, Nigeria And Sudan which executed prisoners in 2016 did not repeat it in 2017. Concerning Libya, Amnesty International could not know exactly if people have been or not subject to executions.
Amnesty International noted that Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Niger who decided many death penalty sentences did not pronounce any at all in 2017. But on the other side, Botswana, Gambia, Guinea Equatorial who did not damn to death anybody in 2016 sent to death sentence in 2017.The African countries to have pronounced death sentences in 2017 are Algeria (27), Botswana (4), Égypt (402), Gambia (3), Ghana (7), Guinea equatorial (2), Kenya (21), Libya (3), Mali (10), Morocco/Sahara occidental (15), Nigeria (621), Democratic Republic of Congo (22), Sierra Leone (21), Somalia (24 : Puntland 16 ; Federal Government 8), Soudan (17+), South Sudan (16), Tanzania (5), Tunisia (25), Zambia (94), Zimbabwe (11). At the contrary, the number of death sentences pronounced has decreased considerably in Ghana, Mali, Democratic Republic of Cong, Somalia, Tanzania, and Tunisia.
Amnesty International revealed that according to the data they could have access to, some death sentenced could see their sentence overturned to commutations or grace. It was in Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco/Sahara occidental, Mauritania, Nigeria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. Amnesty International registered in Zambia 19 death sentences cases, in Nigeria 28 who were finally recognized innocent.
The total number of death sentence decreased from 1086 at least in 2016 to 878 in 2017 at least. Nigeria has the record of death sentences pronounced at the end of 2017. In 2016, Guinea abolished the death penalty for all the common right crimes in 2016. Burkina-Faso, Gambia, Kenya, Chad are making great efforts in preparation of law texts to abolish this penalty. The supreme court of Kenya has abolished the systematic death sentence in case of murder conviction.
Madagascar and Sao Tomé-et-Principe who abolished long time ago the capital punishment has signed the protocol of political and civil right international pact for the abolition of death penalty. Gambia also signed that protocol. In Mai 2017, the African Union Commission of People and Human rights, adopted in Niamey (Niger) during its 60th ordinary session a resolution to protect the right to life in Africa. The resolution was about to invite all the countries members of the African Union, those who temporarily stopped the executed, and those who are still executing to vote a decision to definitely put an end to the capital punishment.
Sierra Leone is going with more attachment to the death penalty. The Constitutional Court of Benin in 2016 abolished the death penalty for all the crimes but by the end of 2017, the parliament did not already voted the law to delete the death penalty in the constitution. Amnesty International is a renown worldwide human right organization of 7 million members which is working in difficult conditions for a campaign of respect of human right by everybody.
Staff Writer; Abu-Jahlil Astrid Chacha
One may also connect with this brother on Facebook; Segla A.
and http://www.achpr.org/fr/sessions/60th/resolutions/375/